Friends Forever?
by nUmbskuLL
Summary: Akane and Ranma became the best of friends when they were kids. One day, Ranma has to continue his journey to perfect his martial arts skills leaving Akane in despair. 10 years later, Ranma came back to Nerima with a car! Read and find out how it happened
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters so don't sue me.

Akane and Ranma became the best of friends when they were kids. One day, Ranma has to continue his journey to perfect his martial arts skills leaving Akane in despair. 10 years later, Ranma came back to Nerima with a car! Read and find out how it happened! - R&R... R/A pairings

* * *

**Friends Forever?**

* * *

_by: numbskull_

* * *

**Chapter 1: **

12 years ago...

A man wearing a white gi stood in front of a wooden gate holding his 6-year-old son by his hand. The boy is so confused and looks at his father with a questioning look. His father took a deep breath and opened the wooden gate.

"Ojamashimasu! (polite way in saying while entering someone's property.)", his voice loud enough for someone to hear. A young girl, maybe 8 or 9 year old, greeted them. "Is your father home?", asked the man. "hai (yes). I'll call him for you. Please come inside.", the young girl said and led them in the living room.

Then, a man with a long, black hair and wearing a dark-colored gi entered the living room. As he saw the man in a white gi, he ran up to him and hugged him. "Saotome-kun! It's nice to see you again!", wailed the long-haired man. "It's nice seeing you too, Tendo-kun!", Saotome said as he hugged his long-time friend back. "Tendo-kun, I'd like you to meet my son, Ranma. Ranma, this is Soun. He is daddy's friend." Ranma looked at Soun and bowed. "Nice to meet you, sir." Soun smiled at the politeness the young boy showed. "You sure taught him well, Genma." "Of course, i did. And with the help of Nodoka, he will be the man amongst men. By the way, where's Kimiko-san?", Genma asked as he looked for Soun's wife. Soun looked down sadly and said, "She died a few weeks ago." Genma was shocked at what he heard and apologized. He looked at his son and told him to go outside to play so he could talk to Soun privately. The boy obeyed and went outside the house.

Ranma looked around the property. "This is bigger than I thought.", thought Ranma to himself. Then, one thing that caught his eye is the dojo. He peeked inside and saw a little girl with short, dark blue hair and around his age doing some kicks. She was still practicing some moves to improve her skills. She sensed that someone's been watching her and looked at the direction where the peeking boy is.

"Who are you?", asked the angry girl. Ranma backed away a little and gulped. "I'm Ranma. Saotome Ranma." The girl walked towards Ranma and observed him carefully. "Why are you here? Are you daddy's new student?", asked the girl. "Uhmm...well, I'm not here to be a student but my Pop just visited his friend here. Are you his student?", Ranma asked getting a bit uncomfortable with the girl's presence. "No. I'm his daughter, Tendo Akane.", Akane said and tightened her belt. "Do you know martial arts?", she asked while adjusting her belt. "Y-yeah. A little.", said Ranma looking at the floor. "Do you wanna spar?", asked Akane getting a bit excited. "N-no. I-I don't hit g-girls.", Ranma stuttered. This made the girl angry and attacked him with a punch. "What are you doing?!", asked Ranma as he dodged her punches. "Sparring and letting out my anger to you because you don't want to spar with me coz I'm a girl!", Akane said as she launched a flurry of punches. "You're a tomboy!", Ranma blurted out. Akane stopped and her anger goes beyond her limit. "What did you say?!" Akane attacked Ranma again as he dodges every punch and kick. "i didn't mean it! I'm sorry!", Ranma said successfully dodging the attacks. They fought and fought until they both fell on the dojo's floor.

Back inside the house, the two adults finished talking about Kimiko's fate. Both are saddened for the loss of someone close to them. "Do your daughters know about this?", Genma asked sadly. Soun took a sip of his tea and said, "Only Kasumi and Nabiki. I didn't let Akane know for she is too young." Genma stared at his friend sadly. "What did you tell her?" "I told her that her mother's away on a trip.", Soun said. Genma shook his head and placed his hands on Soun's shoulders. "Tendo-kun, I think it is better if you tell her the truth. It will hurt her more if she finds out later on." Soun looked sadly at his friend and nodded, "I think you're right, Saotome-kun. I cannot bear to see my precious baby to get hurt and get angry at me. I'll talk to her about this right now." Soun stood up and went to the dojo to call his daughter. Genma followed right behind him.

The two children laid down on the floor, too exhausted to stand up. Akane looked at her companion and smiled, "You're pretty good." Ranma looked back and smiled, "You're pretty good yourself, too." "I never had a work out like this before. Daddy wouldn't train me anymore since mom left on a trip.", Akane said sadly as she remembered her mother. "What's the matter?", Ranma asked as he is concerned. "I miss my mom. I wonder where she'll come back.", Akane said as she imagined herself being hugged by her mother. "Don't worry. She'll be back. No mother can be away from her children for too long.", Ranma smirked. "You really think so?", Akane said with a glimpse of hope in her eyes. "I know so. Pop said mom couldn't take her hands off me when Pop and I left.", Ranma said reassuring Akane about her feelings. Akane's smile became wider and stared at the ceiling. "You know, your mom will be proud of you because she's got a tomboy daughter to protect her!" Now Ranma did it this time. He destroyed the good mood and received something drastic from the girl glowing with anger.

We see Ranma sitting on the floor with a red mark on his cheek. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I just have this condition that I say something I don't really mean.", Ranma said apologetically. Akane took a deep breath and said while not looking at him, "It's okay." Then, Akane's eyes shone suddenly. "Ne Ranma, I thought about something and I'd hope you'd agree." Ranma looked at her with confusion and asked, "What idea is that?" Akane's smile grew more and sat near Ranma. "I was hoping we could be friends. Do you want to be friends?" Akane asked as she offered her hand for a hand shake. Ranma stared at her hand for a moment and smiled. "Yeah, sure."

The sound of an opening door was heard in the dojo and the two children looked at who just entered. Akane saw her father enter with a guy in a white gi. She ran up to her father and hugged him, "Daddy! I made a friend today! His name is Ranma and he is a good martial artist like me! We sparred a while ago!", Akane said excitedly. Soun smiled sadly at his daughter and placed his hand on her head. "I see. It's good that you've made friends with daddy's friend's son." Akane nodded. Soun cleared his throat and took Akane in his arms. "Akane, daddy has something important to tell you and promise me that you won't get angry." Akane looked confused but nodded in the end. Genma walked towards his son to fetch him.

Genma took Ranma inside the house. The, he saw Kasumi cleaning the table. "Kasumi-chan, could you please tell us where your spare room is. I think we'll be staying here for a while." Kasumi smiled and led them to their room.

As Ranma finished unpacking his things, he noticed that something's wrong with his father. He approached him and looked at him curiously. Genma took notice of his son's curiosity and saw how concerned he was, he flashed Ranma a smile. Ranma smiled back and hugged his father. "Don't worry, Pop. Everything's gonna be okay like you always say." Genma was touched by his son's words and hugged him back. "I know, son. I know."

After the dramatic scene, Genma left the room to get something to drink. Ranma, the little adventurous martial artist, decided to go on the roof. He wanted so much to try that but Genma won't let him. This time, his father's not around. He looked outside the window to find something that will support him while climbing up the roof. He successfully climbed the roof and searched for a place to lay down. He found a comfortable place with a nice view of the sunset. "So beautiful.", he whispered to himself.

As he was getting in touch with the scenery, he heard something. "Are those sniffles?", he thought. He couldn't quite put out where it came from. When he heard it again, he realized that it came from beneath the roof. He crawled on the edge of the roof and carefully tried to position himself upside down. To his amazement, he saw that it is a room. Probably a child's room because it looks like one. He tried to get a better look at who's making those sounds when he lost his hold on the roof's edge and fell on the veranda. Ranma grabbed hold of his aching head and felt a bump. He winced at the pain it caused. Then, he noticed that the sniffles stopped and footsteps are getting louder. The window opened and as he looked up to reveal the person who's making those sniffling sound, he saw the girl who he sparred with.

**END.  
**

**numbskull:** Well, I'm back people! It's been a while since I wrote something. Anyway, I hope you like my story. Have you noticed that Genma's portraying a responsible father? I kind of felt sorry for him because he always portrays the irresponsible father, which is true in the anime. I made him different in this story so please don't burn me with your flames. I have a good reason why I made him like that. Most of the characters are OOC here. This story is sort of like an AU. Do you get me now? And the name Kimiko for Akane's mother is somewhat famous in a lot of fanfictions and I don't really know if that's really her mother's name. Anyway, I'll see you again on the next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters so don't sue me.

Akane and Ranma became the best of friends when they were kids. One day, Ranma has to continue his journey to perfect his martial arts skills leaving Akane in despair. 10 years later, Ranma came back to Nerima with a car! Read and find out how it happened! - R&R... R/A pairings

* * *

**Friends Forever?**

* * *

_by: numbskull_

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

"Akane!", the little boy shrieked.

"R-Ranma?!", the little girl gasped.

Ranma moved up to his feet and shrugged the dust off him. He suddenly remembered he heard sniffles a while ago and realized that it was Akane crying.

"Were you crying?", asked the concerned little boy.

"How'd you know?", asked the confused little girl.

"I was on the roof and I heard sniffles that's why I looked where it came from and I found out that it comes from this room, your room to be exact.", explained Ranma.

"What are you doing on the roof? Are you spying on me?!", said Akane, starting to get a bit angry.

"No! No! It's not that! I just wanted to go to the roof eversince I learned martial arts. By the way, do you wanna come up on the roof with me? It might help you ease the pain.", Ranma suggested. Akane hesitated at first but curiosity got over her since she also wanted to find out what it's like to be up on the roof.

Ranma climbed up first and helped Akane to climb. When she reached the roof, they both sat down. Akane was amazed at what she saw. She didn't only see the town but she clearly saw the stars shining brightly on the deep blue sky. She laid down and Ranma looked at her. He saw comfort in her eyes and was glad that she was smiling. He followed suit and gazed at the stars.

"My daddy talked to me today which is the reason why I was crying.", Akane spoke to shatter the silence between them. Akane felt that she can talk to Ranma comfortably about things like this. Ranma, on the otherhand, listened carefully to what Akane is saying as she related everything her father said to her earlier. As she finished talking, she couldn't help but cry. Ranma didn't know what to do since it's the first time he saw someone cry. He just stared at her silently.

Akane wiped her tears and chuckled. "Gomen (sorry). I just needed to let this out. I remember my mom used to say that it's always better to let out a good cry." Ranma didn't understand her because he has never cried in his whole life. His father always reminds him that "boys don't cry". Akane took a deep breath and stretched. "Arigatou (thank you), Ranma. I feel so much better now." Ranma nodded and stood up. "I'm glad you're okay. For a minute there, you scared me because I thought you won't stop crying and I didn't know what to do.", Ranma said while he scratched the back of his head. Akane stood up and approached the not-so-paying-attention Ranma and suddenly hugged him. Ranma was astonished at what happened. He didn't move a finger for he is afraid to do something to hurt Akane. Akane finally shifted and pushed herself away from Ranma. "My mom used to do that whenever I feel so sad. It really does make you feel better, too.", Akane smiled. Ranma's eyes are as big as saucers because no one has ever hugged him yet, not even his father.

"You've done so much for me in just a day, Ranma. I hope we can bestfriends now.", Akane said and flashed him the most beautiful smile she could ever muster. Ranma blushed and turned away from Akane to hide his blush. "Why did my face turned hot when she smiled? What does that mean?", asked Ranma innocently to himself. "A-Anyway, we better get back down before our fathers catch us here on the roof.", Ranma said and went back down first to help Akane climb down.

They both made it back on the veranda safely and Akane was about to get inside her window when she thought of a nidea. "Ne, Ranma. Would you like to sleep in my room tonight? It kinda feels lonely for me to be alone right now.", Akane requested. Ranma smiled and nodded since he didn't want to sleep with his father who snores so loudly. They got into Akane's bed and slept peacefully.

Morning came and everything's so peaceful until...

"Ranma! Where are you?!", Genma burst open the closet. He searched everywhere even inside his backpack. "Ranma!", Genma screamed on the top of his lungs. Soun suddenly appeared behind him with sleep still on his eyes. "What's wrong, Saotome-kun? Looking for something?", Soun yawned. "Not something! It's someone! Ranma's missing!", Genma said as he shook his friend. "R-Ranm-a-a's mi-mi-ss-i-i-ing-g-g?!", Soun managed to say as his friend is still shaking him.. Genma nodded and wailed. "W-wasn't h-h-hr in y-your r-room l-last ni-i-i-ight-t? A-And p-p-please sto-stop shaki-king me-e-e!", Soun said and placed his hands on Genma's arms to stop him from shaking him any further. "Oh, sorry.", Genma apologized. "I've been up all night searching for him.", Genma said as he continued to search. "Have you checked every room in this house?", Soun asked as he, too, helped his friend. "Yes. Unfortunately, he's not in any room.", Genma said and a memory dawned on him and he became very pale. Soun noticed it and approached Genma. "What's the matter, Saotome-kun?" Genma couldn't answer. He just opened his mouth but no words came out. Soun's getting worried about his friend and told him he'll help him look for his son. Genma mustered up all his courage to tell one thing that his friend might go insane with.

"Tendo-kun, when I searched your daughters' rooms, I found out something.", Genma confesesed. "What is it?", Sound asked as he started to get nervous. "This isn't gonna be good.", Soun thought. "Akane, your daughter, is missing, too.", Genma sighed with defeat. "What?!", Soun yelled and became as pale as a ghost.

**END.**

**numbskull: **That's it. Sorry for the long wait. I was searching for a review center because I didn't pass my board exams. I think I didn't do much on the exams. Anyway, I don't feel so depressed about it. Back to the story, Akane and Ranma became bestfriends now but trouble seems to be lurking at the Tendo household. Will they ever find Akane and Ranma? Will they be in big trouble if they're found? Keep on reading.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of these characters so don't sue me.

Akane and Ranma became the best of friends when they were kids. One day, Ranma has to continue his journey to perfect his martial arts skills leaving Akane in despair. 10 years later, Ranma came back to Nerima with a car! Read and find out how it happened! - R&R... R/A pairings.

* * *

**Friends Forever?**

* * *

_by: numbskull_

* * *

**Chapter ****3**

"Nani (what)?!", was heard from the door behind. Two little figures started to wiggle from their position. A boy with a messed up pigtailed hair stretched and yawned to a new morning. "What was that?", asked Ranma to his friend beside him. When he heard no response, he turned to look at his companion sleeping snuggly on her bed. He smiled to see that she is sleeping soundly despite all the emotional night they had. Then, he heard rushing footsteps getting nearer on her room. The door burst open to reveal a wailing and pale Soun. Ranma was taken aback and surely he was shocked. Soun ran to Akane's bed to see if she's there while Akane woke up just in time to see her ragged featured father.

"What's the matter, daddy?", asked a half-awake Akane.

Soun suddenly hugged her youngest daughter tightly.

"I thought I lost you!", Soun sobbed.

Genma arrived at Akane's door and saw Ranma inside. He barged in and picked up Ranma on his shirt.

"Where have you been, boy?! Do you know how worried I am?!", Genma scolded as he shook Ranma. "D-Daddy, I-I'm sorry. I we-went on the r-roof and took A-Akane with me b-because...", Ranma wasn't finishedwhen Genma cut him off. "What?! You mean to say that you took Akane on the roof?!", Genma said angered by his words. Ranma got scared but all her can do is to nod. Genma's anger went over the edge and his veins are popping out of his head as he yelled at Ranma.

"What were you thinking?! You could've gotten Akane hurt! Come with me and I'll teach you some manners, boy!", Genma said and stormed out of the room before Soun could stop him.

The Tendo household could hear yells and cries from the dojo. Akane cried and begged her father to stop Genma because she knew it wasn't Ranma's fault.

"It wasn't his fault, daddy. He only wanted to comfort me and it was my idea to let Ranma sleep in my room.", Akane sobbed. Soun patted her daughter's head and felt sorry for Ranma. He kissed his daughter on the forehead and went to the dojo.

"What have I told you about climbing on the roof, boy?!", Genma angrily asked as he spanked Ranma with a stick.

"Y-You said not t-to climb on it b-because I might f-fall.", Ranma cried out loud.

"That's right! And if I catch you going up there again, you'll see what you're looking for!", Genma said threateningly and continued spanking the crying boy.

Soun finally reached the dojo and immediately went inside to stop Genma from hurting the little boy any further. He held his friend's wrist and said, "That's enough, Genma! You've already done so much to hurt the boy!" Genma breathed heavily and dropped the stick he was holding. Soun approached the boy and hugged him. Ranma flinched as he was held by his friend's father.

"It's okay now, Ranma. It's okay.", Soun comforted the boy. "You are grounded for a week. Stay in the dojo unless I tell you so.", Genma said calmly and left the dojo. Ranma sobbed on Soun's gi and apologized for taking Akane on the roof.

"It's okay, Ranma. I understand why you did that. Thank you for comforting Akane.", Soun said in a fatherly way. Ranma just continued to cry so he barely heard what Soun said. Soun stayed for a while but decided to go talk to his friend first.

Ranma's left alone inside the dojo.

Soun found Genma drinking sake while watching the koi on the pond. He approached him quietly.

"May I join you for a drink?", Soun asked. Genma nodded and poured sake on the cup to give it to Soun. Soun accepted the cup and drank its contents. The warm sensation of sake washing through his throat relieved him. He took the bottle of sake and poured some for Genma.

"You know, Ranma's a good boy. You shouldn't be too harsh on him. You're the only family he's got since you left Nodoka to train Ranma.", Soun said and handed the cup to Genma.

"I know. I swear, I really felt bad after that.", Genma said as he drank the sake in one gulp. "I better go back there and talk to him.", Genma said as he stood up and padded his way to the dojo.

Akane sneaked out of the house and went to check on Ranma. She saw him curled up in a ball and crying. She took a deep breath and approached him. Ranma sensed someone's presence and wiped his tears away immediately. A hand rested on his shoulder and saw that it is very small. He knew whose hand it belongs to so he doesn't need to look at her on the face.

"W-What are y-you doing here? D-daddy might find you here a-and g-get angry again.", Ranma said as he tried to suppress his tears. Akane looked at him softly and hugged him. Ranma's eyes opened as wide as saucers but he didn't even move a muscle.

"W-What are you d-doing?", Ranma asked.

"I'm comforting you. Mom hugs me whenever I cry and I always feel better when she does.", Akane explained as she closed her eyes.

"I see." That's the only words Ranma managed to say as he savored the moment. "Will mommy hug me too if I cry like this?", Ranma thought silently.

Genma opened the door to the dojo and saw Akane hugging Ranma. He was in awe at what he saw. Two children acting as if they are already adults. He even thought that they're more mature than he is but the thought was shrugged off when both children looked at him and both became pale. Akane didn't know what else to do so she stood up for Ranma.

"Don't hurt Ranma anymore! He's my friend and he did nothing wrong!", Akane said as she protected Ranma from his father. Genma laughed and shook his head.

"I won't hurt him anymore, Akane-chan. I just want to talk to him."

Akane looked at the floor and felt a bit embarrassed.

"Could you give us a moment alone, Akane-chan?", Genma kindly asked.

Akane hesitated at first and looked at Ranma. Ranma just nodded and gave her a reassuring smile saying that it's going to be okay. Akane turned to look back on Genma and nodded.

"Promise me you won't hurt him anymore?", Akane asked just to make sure.

"I promise, Akane-chan.", Genma swore.

Akane smiled and left the dojo.

Genma turned to look at his son but his son didn't look back at him. It hurt him to see that his son is ignoring him. He sat beside Ranma and spoke, "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. Daddy was just so scared that I thought I might lose you." He looked at Ranma who was looking at the floor.

"You know your mommy's gonna get really worried if something happens to you. As a daddy, I'm just looking out for my family. Soon, you will understand me when you start having your own family.", he continued. "Can you forgive your stupid daddy for what happened?" Ranma, then, turned to look at his father and nodded. He hugged Genma tightly and started crying. Genma wrapped his arms around his son gently as he is happy that his son forgave him already.

**End.**

**numbskull: **Chapter 3's finished! Wow! This is an emotional chapter, ne? Anyway, for those of you who reviewed this story, thank you and don't be afraid to criticize my work since every work has flaw, right? The fact with Ranma returning to Tendo dojo in a car signifies that he lived his life responsibly ever since he left Tendo dojo. His life wouldn't be like the one he lived in the anime/manga. But still, there will be a lot of chaos coming in the lives of the Ranma ½ characters! Just stay tuned, okay? Leave some comments, flames, criticism, or anything you want to say. And if someone wants to suggest something for the story, just leave me a message. It will be a great help. Thank you!


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